Social Navigation

Spring Training Miscellany: Cubs 1, Dodgers 2 – March 22, 2011

The Cubs are now 10-16 on the Spring, which, in isolation, means very little. A number of the core players – Zambrano, Dempster, Wells, Castro, Byrd, among others – have been lights out, and a number of the fringe roster types have struggled. How much does a 10-16 record, therefore, truly reflect the competency of the team? As I said, very little. Still, it’s frustrating…

Your losing pitcher today, and bullpen “lock,” was Jeff Samardzija. After a decent 9th inning, he crapped the bed in the 10th for a total line of an earned run (which would have been at least two if it hadn’t ended the game), three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. At least he looks like a pirate.

Fellow bullpen lock John Grabow threw a scoreless frame, giving up a hit. If he somehow manages to be slightly better than league average this year, the Cubs’ pen looks all the more impressive. Of course, Sean Marshall has been terrible this Spring, so I guess we read into the Spring bullpen at our own peril.

Jeff Baker (at third) and Blake DeWitt (at second) each went 1-4, with a homer and a triple, respectively. Darwin Barney (at shortstop) also went 1-4. I suspect that the positional alignment is more meaningful than the at bats – it suggests the Cubs want as many looks at DeWitt at second base as possible before making a decision about his immediate future. He does have an option left.

Reed Johnson and Fernando Perez each came in late in a corner outfield spot and went 0-1. Most assume Johnson has the fifth outfielder spot sewn up on the strength of his .200/.265/.320 Spring. Yes – that does actually crush Perez’s Spring line.

Disclaimer

In addition to news, Bleacher Nation publishes both rumor and opinion, as well as information reported by other sources. Information on Bleacher Nation may contain errors or inaccuracies, though we try to avoid them. Links to content and the quotation of material from other news sources are not the responsibility of Bleacher Nation. Photos used are the property of Bleacher Nation, are used under a license with Getty Images, are used with permission, are fair use, or are believed to be in the public domain. Legitimate requests to remove copyrighted photos not in the public domain will be honored promptly. Comments by third parties are neither sponsored or endorsed by Bleacher Nation.

Bleacher Nation Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Bleacher Nation is a private media site, and it is not affiliated in any way with Major League Baseball or the Chicago Cubs. Neither MLB nor the Chicago Cubs have endorsed, supported, directed, or participated in the creation of the content at this site, or in the creation of the site itself. It's just a media site that happens to cover MLB and the Chicago Cubs.

Bleacher Nation is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.